Category: Energy Storage

This Week in Batteries: Sifting Through Two Big Bankruptcies GTM², March 15, 2017 The past week was a tough one for cleantech. We had a double feature of bankruptcies — saltwater battery maker Aquion and top-five residential solar installer Sungevity. With so much destruction around us, it needs to be said: This doesn’t mean the whole sector is […]

Tesla’s Battery Revolution Just Reached Critical Mass Bloomberg, January 30, 2017 Tesla Motors Inc. is making a huge bet that millions of small batteries can be strung together to help kick fossil fuels off the grid. The idea is a powerful one—one that’s been used to help justify the company’s $5 billion factory near Reno, Nev.—but batteries have so far only […]

Daniel Pidgeon, ERS, for Zondits The California-based beer company Sierra Nevada has installed Tesla Powerpack batteries to help mitigate the costs that stem from electricity demand charges. Sierra Nevada has grown substantially since it began as a West Coast craft brewer and can now brew up to 1.4 million gallons of its signature pale ale […]

Jesse Remillard, ERS, for Zondits Southern California is becoming a high-stakes testing ground for utility-scale battery energy storage. The energy storage provider AES has secured two contracts totaling 37.5 MW (150 MWh) that will be critical for San Diego Gas and Electric (SDG&E) to meet its peak demands. The AES press release states that the two […]

Jesse Remillard, ERS, for Zondits Over the last few years, the Federal Energy Regulation Committee (FERC) has been implementing policy to build energy storage into electricity markets. FERC Order 745, which required grid regulators to allow energy storage resources to bid into wholesale markets, was initially passed in 2012. In 2014, Order 745 was challenged […]

Ameresco to build renewable-powered microgrid for US Marine Corps Energy Storage, January 13, 2017 Ameresco will build a renewable-powered microgrid at a Marine Corp facility in Parris Island, South Carolina. The project at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot (MCRD) includes 6.7MW of PV generation, a 3.5MW combined heat and power facility and a 8MWh battery storage […]

US administration: Energy storage and other grid investments vital to security and resilience Energy Storage News, January 9, 2017 Energy storage should be properly valued and supported at federal level in the United States, according to a government document analysing and evaluating energy policy released by officials of the outgoing Obama administration. The Quadrennial Energy […]

Jesse Remillard, ERS, for Zondits There are strong signs that commercial, or behind-the-meter, energy storage has turned a corner in regards technical maturity, commercial value, and ultimately, financial credibility. A report issued by Sandia National Laboratories in August says that many sources believe that the commercial energy storage market is currently at the “tipping point,” […]